Has anyone organized a successful vendor event before?

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Discussion Overview

The thread centers around the experiences and challenges faced by participants in organizing vendor events, particularly in the context of holiday shopping. Participants share personal anecdotes about their own events, discuss advertising strategies, and express varying levels of success.

Discussion Character

  • Anecdotal
  • Opinion-based
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant, identifying as a consultant, expresses a desire to organize a vendor event but feels uncertain about where to start.
  • Another participant shares their experience of organizing a vendor event that had poor attendance despite extensive advertising, suggesting that high expectations may lead to disappointment.
  • One participant mentions attending a cooking school event that resulted in numerous contacts and potential bookings, highlighting the value of such opportunities.
  • A participant describes organizing an annual Holiday Showcase with a large number of vendors and a successful turnout, emphasizing the importance of early planning and advertising.
  • Another participant shares their experience with holiday open houses, noting that some events were successful while others were not, without a clear reason for the differences.
  • One participant discusses the importance of advertising, sharing a successful event that resulted in significant sales and contrasting it with a poorly advertised event that had minimal attendance.
  • A participant mentions organizing an event at a residence to keep costs down and expresses hope for bookings, while also discussing the challenges of inviting customers to a home setting.
  • Another participant seeks advice on creating flyers for vendor events, indicating a need for collaboration among vendors.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Views differ on the effectiveness of vendor events, with some participants sharing successful experiences while others report poor turnout. No clear consensus emerges regarding the best practices for organizing these events.

Contextual Notes

Participants share experiences from various types of vendor events, including home-based gatherings and larger showcases, reflecting a range of strategies and outcomes.

Who May Find This Useful

Consultants looking to organize vendor events or seeking insights into the experiences of others in similar situations may find this discussion relevant.

C
ChefJtyle494
Messages
5
Has anyone ever organized their own vendor event? There is one coming up in my area that I was not able to be a part of but I would like to organize my own. I would like to get consultants from a variety of companies and advertise it as a Holiday Shopping Bazaar. The only problem is that I don't even know where to begin.

I am a new consultant in a new area and I am having trouble getting bookings. I am willing to try anything at this point. If anyone has ever done anything like this, let me know!! Maybe you could give me some advice on what I should do!!

Jessica
 
we did this last nighti had 10 other vendors beside myself , in a hotel banquet room. Advertised for 3 weeks in all 4 local newspapers , put up flyers everywhere, all of us bombed our contact lists.It was a fundraiser for the Hurricane relief efforts.
We didnt get the response we had hoped for at all. Of course there was a accident in front of the hotel which may have hurt us , but i wouldnt do it again. A lot of work,and poor attendence. Every one felt the same way. I guess if you do it do not get your hopes up to high,just in case it turns out like ours ! :(
 
Go to www.tasteofhome.com and see if there is a cooking school coming near you. I noticed you were in Ohio, so I checked and I see that there are going to be 8 of them starting mid October in Ohio. I don't know if any of those towns are close to you or not. I just had a booth at one on Tuesday, and I have tons of contacts now. I have 192 people that I have to call that may want to host a show, place an order or sell it. It cost me about $200, but if even a quarter of those contacts pan out, it will be well worth it.
 
I belong to a moms group and every year we have our annual Holiday Showcase. This year I am in charge of organizing it. It is a lot of work. We started back in August planning for this event and it will take place on Nov. 17. We first opened it up to the moms members who have home based businesses and then opened it up to anyone. We have close to 40 vendors :eek: (same number as last year and we had 300+people come through the doors last year) We rented a local event barn. We have been advertising for vendors and I am still getting calls as of this evening and tommorrow is the deadline for registration. I am now putting everyone else on a waiting list.

Anyway if you want more information you can email me at [email protected]

Tracy
 
I have done holiday open houses for 5 yrs. Some of them were awesome and some bombed. I honestly couldnt relate it to anything of why some work and some dont. We usually had about 5 other vendors there. The one time that it really worked the best for me was the time that I put colored stars on each invitation that I sent out to all my past customers, hosts, friends ect. I let them know they had to bring their invitation to see what percent they would get off or what prize they might have won. For example I may have sent out 3 with a blue star and they would get a mini serving spatula, 50 gold stars 5% off their order, 1 green star 25% off, 100 silver stars a quikcut paring knife. Anyway, you get the picture. I wrapped they prizes and handed it to them or got really excited when they got so much off. They really enjoyed that and I had really high sales for they day and lots of leads. Another thing I have done for the holidays: From September 1st to November 30th if they hold a kitchen show with me that is $300 or more, their name goes into a drawing for the Generations II Cookware set. That really got my sales boosted. I have done that for 3 years and talk about excitement. My hosts still talk about it when I do shows that they are at! HTH
 
  • Thread starter
  • #6
Vendor nightTracy- What types of vendors are you booking for this event? Is it direct sales companies or do you allow local crafty-type vendors too?

Jessica
 
We have several different direct selling companies represented and then we have some crafty type vendors. Some vendors have done really well in the past and some have not. Usually the ones that have not done well have had things that many people are not interested in or have been over priced.

Tracy
 
I have organized a vendor event/open house...what we do is have it at someone's house (keeps expenses down) and everyone involved invites customers. I have Longaberger, Mary Kay, Partylite and PC in the past and this year we are adding Discovery Toys and Stampin Up. It has gone over really well and we don't spend a lot of money on it. You can go to the different websites to find the different consultants in your area. You have to stress to them that the only way it will work is if they invite a lot of people also since it's not fair to everyone if each doesn't pull their weight. Also don't do it as an all day event...when we did it last November from 10a-5p no one came between 1p-5p so I reccommend from 9a-2p.
 
Huge EventI was the coordinator for my daughter's 4K "Shop 'til You Drop" event last year. We had it at the school gym with over 30 vendors. It was a great success. PC and Tastefully Simple did the best. I had over $2100 in sales, T.S. had $1900. The most important aspect I can stress is Advertise, Advertise, Advertise!!! We hit the cable access channel, neighboring businesses put it on their marquees, supermarkets put 1/4 page ads in shopping bags, we stuffed residents' paper boxes, etc. I'm participating in it again this year, strictly as a vendor.

I also participated in one that had 21 vendors, but there was very limited advertising. Guess what? In 4 hours, we had seven, yes seven, people walk through. Again, advertising is the KEY!

If you have any questions, please feel free to private message me!

HTH,
Diane
 
Bookings?Does anyone get any bookings from the vendor events? I am trying to put one together in November with 3 other vendors, and was just curious as if I would maybe get any bookings from this. Just curious.
 
I did one last January with Mary Kay, PartyLite, Herbalife, and Silpada. It was a poor turnout (snowstorm). I still got about $150 in orders, three bookings, and a couple recruit leads. I am still doing shows from that original show--from the spiderweb effect. Even though there were maybe only 40 people that turned out, it was successful considering the minimal money I put in to it. We put an ad in the newspaper, and a couple of the girls put flyers in their neighborhoods. From one of the flyers, I was contacted by the local mall to do a Spring Fling in the mall with other direct sales companies, and that turned out well also! You never know!
 
  • Thread starter
  • #12
Ok, so here is what I haev come up with... We are doing this event at a residence because we want to keep the cost down. So far we have confirmations from Arbonne Cosmetics, Creative Memories, Premier Jewelry, Stampin Up, Pampered Chef and then 2 local businesses... Decorators Den and a Florist. We have maybes from Tastefully Simple and PartyLite. We haven't talked about advertising it in the newspaper yet but I think we should!!! If we were having it in my home, I would. But the other girl working on organizing this is hosting it in her home and she doesn't want a ton of strangers trapsing through???? We have all been instructed to invite our own customers (aren't those going to be strangers????), friends, neighbors, relatives, etc. I sure hope it does well. I am a new consultant in a new area and I NEED bookings!
 
Does anyone know what kind of flyer to make up for these events. I am participating in one and was told that everyone is making up their own flyers. I am supposed to include the other vendors names (not as big as mine) on there. Any suggestions?
 
  • Thread starter
  • #14
I have one flyer that was passed along to me from someone else. I am not sure if this is what you are looking for or not but maybe you can tailor it to your needs.

Jessica
 

Attachments

Thanks for the paper it gave me some good ideas. I am still fairly new at this (4 months in) and I have never done anything like this before. The girl that is putting this together wants me to have a cash and carry section and I am not sure what to get to put out there and whether or not to serve refreshments. The whole idea of this is making me a nervous wreck :eek:
Its a good thing I have all of you or I would be crawling into the perverbial whole right about now.
 

Frequently Asked Questions

Has anyone organized a successful vendor event before?

Yes, many individuals and companies have successfully organized vendor events. These events can provide great opportunities for networking, sales, and brand exposure.

What are the key factors for a successful vendor event?

Key factors include selecting the right venue, effective marketing, having a diverse range of vendors, and ensuring that there is a good flow of attendees throughout the event.

How can I attract more vendors to my event?

To attract more vendors, promote your event through social media, local community boards, and direct outreach. Offering incentives such as reduced fees for early registration can also help.

What types of products or services work best at vendor events?

Products that are unique, locally made, or cater to a specific audience tend to perform well. Food items, handmade crafts, and home goods, like those from Pampered Chef, are often popular choices.

How can I measure the success of my vendor event?

Success can be measured through various metrics, including the number of attendees, sales generated by vendors, feedback from participants, and overall engagement during the event.

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